Pork Yuk Sung

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If you’re a fan of Chinese food or you fancy trying something different, I’m confident you will love this recipe. The preparation time is longer than the actual cooking time, and can be a bit fiddly, but persevere as it is worth it.

I always choose lean pork mince, under 8% fat, to keep this recipe nice and healthy.

You will need:

1 iceberg lettuce

1 pack pork mince (as this is a main meal, I use 500g for two of us)

3 cloves garlic

1 white onion

1 stick of celery

1 carrot, peeled

1 can water chestnuts (these are usually around 140g)

1 tablespoon of reduced salt soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon dry white wine or dry sherry

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

What to do:

When it comes to chopping the ingredients, I use a food processor as I am not particularly adept at chopping things finely. It’s entirely up to you though, and you can leave the ingredients quite chunky if you like. Try different things and see what works for you.

Peel the onion and garlic and chop them into small pieces. If you’re using a food processor, it’s fine to chop these two ingredients together. Set these aside.

Peel the carrot and chop it into small pieces together with the celery and water chestnuts. Again, if using a food processor, these can all go in together. Set them to one side.

In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, white wine or sherry, and sugar.

Before you start cooking (as it requires complete concentration!) prepare your lettuce leaves. Carefully separate them keeping them whole. I find it helpful to cut off the stalk, which frees up the leaves slightly. I have to confess though, I have handed this challenging part of the recipe to my husband as he is excellent at it and keeps his cool!

Add the sesame oil to a wok and warm over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Cook these for a few minutes and then add the pork mince.

Keep stirring until the pork is cooked. Using a slotted spoon to leave any water behind, remove the cooked pork, onion and garlic from the wok and put to one side on a plate or in a bowl.

Throw away any water left in the wok. If you’re happy dry frying then don’t add any more oil, otherwise just use a splash to stop the ingredients sticking. Add the celery/carrot/water chestnut mixture to the pan, and cook for a few minutes until warmed through.

Put the sauce mixture into the wok, stir through the ingredients and then add the pork back in. Cook everything together until the yuk sung is dry and the pork is browned, and fully cooked.

Scoop into the lettuce leaves and tuck in. Ensure plenty of paper towel or a napkin is on hand – this is not a dish that can be eaten politely!